“There are moments in our lives when we summon the courage to make choices that go against reason, against common sense and the wise counsel of people we trust. But we lean forward nonetheless because, despite all risks and rational argument, we believe that the path we are choosing is the right and best thing to do. We refuse to be bystanders, even if we do not know exactly where our actions will lead.” – Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks
“Greatness as a leader is measured in part by your willingness to accept daunting challenges. Achieving tough goals requires practicing the secret of commitment: Risk all to win all.” ~ Toyotomi Hideyoshi, The Swordless Samurai
“It always came back to my original belief of having passion. You can’t just generate passion; you’ve really got to have it from the beginning. You need to believe in yourself and in your projects. Very early in your career you need to shoot things that you believe in, things that you really want to shoot [photography]. You need to take risks. Don’t wait for the phone to ring. Success is only going to happen if you are out there really working to make it happen.” ~ Eric Meola
“Unremarkable lives are marked by the fear of not looking capable when trying something new.”
Epictetus, Art of Living
“A well-defined backup plan is sabotage waiting to happen. Why push through the dip, why take the risk, why blow it all when there’s the comfortable alternative instead? The people who break through usually have nothing to lose, and they almost never have a backup plan.” ~ Seth Godin, Linchpin